


Keeping Up With The Mills

by RebelByrdie



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Mills Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-07-28 14:32:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 15,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7644679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebelByrdie/pseuds/RebelByrdie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of interconnected stories about the Mills Family post Season 5.  Regina, Zelena, their children and various others explore what and who family really is.  Fluff, angst and domesticity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Family

Keeping Up With The Mills: Family

Zelena watched the surly dwarf walk out of the Diner after saying a few choice words. She could have tossed a fireball at him but Regina waved her off.  
Henry snickered into his cocoa,“Calm down Aunt Z. He’s just, well, grumpy.”

She picked her fussy little bean out of her carrier. “These people are imbeciles.” She smiled at her baby, Robbie’s eyes were the same shade as her own. “The sooner you learn that we Mills are superior, the better off you’ll be.”

Regina sighed, “More like the sins of your mother and aunt will haunt you so you’ll need a lot of confidence.” She tickled Robbie’s foot, “And maybe a fireball spell.”

Zelena rolled her eyes. “Sins? Really? You scooped them all out of feudal poverty and gave them modern medicine and Netflix. Those peasants should thank you instead of snarling at you.”

She helped Robbie stand on her lap. Her chubby baby legs wobbled and her tiny fists gripped Zelena’s fingers. She bounced the baby a little.  
“They’re unbelievable. It’s a never-ending loop of ‘She poisoned our water-supply, burned our crops and brought a plague unto our houses.’ It’s nauseating.”

Henry snorted into his milkshake hard. The splatter of whipped cream made Robbie giggle.

Regina only raised a brow. “I never poisoned the water. How cliche.”

Henry held his arms out and Robbie squealed and stomped her tiny feet. She loved her cousin. Zelena handed her Bean to Henry.  
“You won’t need fireballs because anyone who messes with you will have to deal with me.” He tweeked one of her copper curls. “And I am getting pretty good with a sword.”  
They laughed and Zelena was genuinely happy to have her sister and their children with her. Family. She really was, finally, part of a family. The Mills.


	2. Memories

Keeping Up With The Mills: Memories

“He did what?!”

Zelena’s scream echoed through the manor. She and Henry had been going through old photo albums and he’d been catching her up on their lives. Maybe he should have glossed over a few things.

Zelena was on her feet, pacing the living room. His mom has Roland and Robbie with her shopping for groceries so the baby was there to see Aunt Z blow her top. Unfortunately his mom wasn’t there to calm her down either.

“The nerve of him. That disgusting-” She rattled off several words that must have belonged to some Oz language that Henry didn’t know. He assumed they were curse words.

He opened his mouth to sort of try to calm her down but she was gone in a puff of green smoke before he could get one word out. “Crap!”

He called his Ma but by the time she answered Zelena was already there. He could hear her yelling through the phone.

He could also hear Emma. Things were a little garbled but it sounded like Emma hadn’t known either.

Henry ended the call and sent a text to his Mom to hurry home. He thought about, briefly, sending Hook a text to warn him but didn’t. The pirate, who wasn’t reformed at all despite what others said, deserved whatever it was he got. He wasn’t good enough for his Ma and had kidnapped and helped torture his Mom.

Maybe it was a little wrong, but he was a Mills and he put his family first. Hook was not now or ever, his family.


	3. Blondes

Keeping Up With The Mills: Blondes

Zelena was enjoying a rare day to herself. She loved her sister and her sweet little Robbie but it was nice to have a peaceful cup of tea by herself every once in a while.  
She was settled in a booth at Grannys and was waiting on her food. The good thing about her vastly accelerated pregnancy was that she had no baby weight to worry about so there was was no need to feel guilty about a double cheeseburger and large order of onion rings.

She let herself relax and enjoy the sinfully short skirts the waitresses wore. She particularly appreciated Tinkerbell. Her accent was pleasant and-

“You know she’s your sister’s ex, right.” Ruby sat her lunch plate on the table,“I mean it hasn't stopped you before, but yeah.”

Zelena ignored the jab, but did let out a grumble. “First Maleficent and now Tinkerbell. My sister certainty has a type.”

Ruby chuckled and sat across from her, “Well yeah. I mean, not to gossip but The Queen sort of had a reputation back in the day.” Ruby grinned, “And there were times, here during the curse that a few brunettes really considered going blonde…if you know what I mean.”

She did. She wished she didn’t but she did.

“So you’re saying that my sister had-” She lowered her voice, “dalliances with some of the town’s women? Who?”

Ruby grinned, “I couldn’t possibly name names.” A wolfish grin spread across her lips, “But if you guessed a name..”

That was how Zelena Mills found out that her baby sister had bedded princesses, assistant principals and several blondes in between.

She stared at Ruby, and felt punch drunk from information. “But not Emma Swan?” The one annoying blonde that she was pretty sure her sister really loved “Really?”

Ruby got up and shrugged, “Your guess on that is as good as mine.”

Zelena sat and all tried to puzzle out what in Ozma’s name was going on between her sister an Emma Swan


	4. Paternity Test

Keeping Up With the Mills: Paternity Test

“You’re joking.” The brunette stared, slack-jawed at her mother.“Or I have finally lost it and I am pumped full of thorazine somewhere drooling into my jello.”  
She paced the living room, “Because there is no way that The Evil Queen, who is a woman, is my father.”

Maleficent shifted in her chair. “Lily, Sweetheart, there was a time when Regina and I were very close.”

Regina stood to the right of the chair Maleficent sat in, paler than she’d ever seen her, and they had literally been in hell together. Zelena watched the drama unfold from her place on the couch. She tilted her head and looked at Lily. The woman didn’t resemble Regina much, but neither did she, so that meant little.

“And when two women have magic and share a desire then a baby can be made.”

Lily kept pacing, “You said you were a dragon when it…no. Never mind, I don’t even want to know. There has got to be a test or something, to prove you’re not blowing smoke.

Zelena chuckled a little at that. Dragon pun. Robbie gurgled and Zelena bounced her a little. The baby reached out and Lily blinked. Robbie was reaching for Lily. The woman took her and smiled when she grabbed onto her brown hair.

“Robbie hates non-Mills.” Henry said with a smile. “So that pretty much proves it, Sis.”

It was true, Robbie preferred her family and would wail if anyone else held her.

Lily smiled a little, “Aren’t you adopted or something?”

Henry threw his arm over Zelena’s shoulder, “So? I’m a Mills no matter what.”

Maleficent smiled, “And so are you, Dear. Well half, at least. Honestly, had I the choice, I wouldn’t change that. Regina was-is a good woman.”

She turned to speak to the proud Papa but Regina’s knees had buckled and she fell to the floor in a dead faint.

“Mom!”

Henry rushed to her side but Zelena only snickered, “Welcome to the family, Lilly.”


	5. Tuesday

Keeping Up With The Mills: Tuesday

Regina woke up at five am, no alarm needed. Robbie was very punctual with her routine and she was a very tiny morning person. She could have sound-proofed her room the same way she had Henry’s and Rolland’s but she didn’t. Her sister, niece and sons needed her.

Speaking of her sister and niece, the two redheads were up. Robbie was bright-eyed, bubbly and already babbling. Zelena’s eyes were barely open. She took the baby and shooed Zelena towards the master bathroom that they shared.

She gave Robbie her bottle and a bowel of cheerios while she made coffee and flitted around the kitchen. The boys needed their lunches and she took down some chicken from the freezer and put it into the refrigerator. She sliced up apples, cheese and celery for after school snacks and portioned everything out. She drank her coffee and unloaded last night’s dishes from the dishwasher.

Zelena came down: showered, dressed and much more alert. She kissed her daughter, poured herself a cup of coffee and took over. She started pulling out pans for breakfast and Regina headed back upstairs.

It was just shy of six and since his return from New York, Henry preferred to shower in the morning. She rapped on his bedroom door, “Henry, are you awake?” He stumbled, she could hear him trip over whatever clutter was in his floor and opened the door. He was half-dressed, a tank top and boxers (Emma’s influence) and sleepily kissed her cheek as he moved like a zombie towards the bathroom.

Roland was, unsurprisingly, already awake. He’d had his bath the night before and was already dressed in the clothes she’d laud out for him. He was flipping through one of his books (Captain Underpants) and sucking his thumb. She sighed internally. He had started that after Robin and she knew it was self-soothing, Archie had assured and reassured her that it was a phase and he would stop once he felt safe and settled again.

“Good Morning, Darling.”

He popped his thumb out oh his mouth, “Hi Gina.”

He bounced back and forth between Gina and Mama. She didn’t pressure him either way. She could never replace Marion. She didn’t want to replace Marion. He had a picture of Robin and Marion on his bedside table so he could remember them as he grew up.

“You want to go downstairs and help Zelena with breakfast?”

He shook his head in the negative. He still didn’t quite understand or trust Zelena. It wasn’t something they wanted to push on him either. “You want to watch cartoons before breakfast?”

In an effort to give each boy his own space away from adults and Robbie, she had put a tv in each room. Henry had his precious Playstation hooked to his and Roland had a dvd player that always had a dvd of classic Looney Tunes in it. Roland had fallen in love with the zany characters the first time Henry had shown them to him.

“Yes please.” He fiddled with the remotes and smiled, “Thank you.” She kissed his forehead and left him to his show. She had only a few minutes to get herself ready for the day.

Thirty minutes and only a little magical cheating later she was showered, dressed and styled for the day. She wore one of her tailored pantsuits, black and worried about the needed alterations. She’d lost a little weight and had might need her slacks taken in. She hated mixing fabric and magic, and hadn’t found the time to go see her seamstress in town. She put it on her very long to-do list.

Breakfast was a loud affair, complete with Robbie tossing her eggs onto the floor and Henry texting someone (Violet,she assumed) all through the meal. Rolland read the paper with her and Zelena scowled at her for not clearing her plate. (Apparently there were starving winkies in Oz whatever that meant)

The daily routine of jackets, shoes, lunchboxes and backpacks went as well as could be expected and she and her boys were given hugs from Zelena and sloppy baby kisses from Robbie and were out to the car at just a little (a lot) past 7:30.

The boys made it to school on time and she hugged and kissed Henry before he sprinted away to join his friends. She, once again, had to walk Rolland to his classroom and assure him that she would be there to pick him up after class before he let go of her hand. The teacher, who had also taught Henry when he was in first grade, smiled at her. They had gotten to know each other well lately.

Now Regina was running behind, officially. She breezed into Granny’s and Ruby met her with a smile and a large triple shot Americano. She was so grateful she could have cried, but settled for tipping her a full ten dollars.

She arrived at her office at nine on the dot and her assistant met her at the door with a full calender of appointments and meetings and several file folders full of documents. She ate lunch at her desk while reviewing some budgetary requests and was back out the door at two-thirty so she could pick Rolland up at three. He, much like Henry before him, was a very good assistant mayor.

Maleficent stormed in at four-thirty, very upset with Lily’s latest antics. She was a wild child and Maleficent loved her with all her heart, she just struggled to understand the daughter who had grown up in a different realm. Rolland tried to cheer her up and between his dimples and his skipping around, he did.

When they arrived home, Regina was un-surprised to find Lilly sitting on the living room floor playing with Robbie. She hugged her daughter (who was upset at her other mother because she struggled to wrap her modern mind around a woman who had lived for centuries) and asked her to stay for dinner.

The night was quickly whittled away by homework, chores, calls from Emma, Snow, Little John and Snow again, and bath and bedtime routines. Rolland was tucked in at eight-thirty on the dot, Robbie tired herself out by nine-thirty and Henry wheedled his way into staying up till ten. Lilly had stayed over in the one remaining bedroom that was more hers than a guest’s.

By eleven Zelena had fallen asleep on the couch twice before being sent upstairs. Regina then went to her study to finish up some work.

At half past midnight she closed down her laptop and made her rounds. She checked the locks on all the windows and doors. She activated the security system and turned out all the lights save for the one by the stairs. She checked each room as she headed to bed.

Henry was sprawled across his bed like a starfish, his headphones still over his ears. She tucked the blanket, that had been on the floor, over him and took off his headphones. Her Little Prince was growing into a man. She kissed his forehead and left him to sleep.

Robbie was asleep in her crib, her wild curls all around her face. She smiled down at her niece and made sure the baby monitors (audio, video and movement) were all working properly.

Zelena was asleep, curled in a tight ball, the diamond (previously emerald) pendant tucked between her fingers.

Lilly was face=down on bed, absolutely dead to the world. She smoothed her brown hair back and tucked her daughter in too.

Roland was asleep in his night-light-bright room. His thumb was in his mouth again. She gently pulled it free then pulled up his Superman pajama pants. His Goodnights were still dry. Regina kissed his forehead and tip-toed back out of his room.

She made quick work of her clothes and makeup and was in her own bed by one.

At two-twenty a small body crawled into her bed. Rolland had woken up from a nightmare. She calmed him down and tucked him in beside her.

At five Robbie woke up and let her aunt know it was time to start another day.


	6. Cold and Flu

Keeping Up With The Mills: Cold and Flue

It had started with a sniffle. Henry’s sniffle to be precise. Now the entire household had come down with the plague. Ozma damn it all.

Zelena loathed being sick. Worse, she felt helpless. Roland (whom Regina had adopted into their motley family after Robin had passed) and Robbie were very ill. Henry, home from school due to his own sickness, kept Roland more or less pacified. Robbie was another story altogether. She had done nothing but scream bloody murder for the past three days. Both of her little ears were infected and she was miserable with fever and a tummy that was as likely to erupt from the one end as it was the other.

If not for Regina she would have lost her mind. Regina seemed to know exactly what to do. She made soup and fluffed pillows and soothed and kissed and it was a crash course in nurturing for Zelena. If she didn’t feel so horrid, she’d be jealous. As it was, she was just extremely grateful.

The doorbell rang and Zelena held her breath. She’d just gotten Robbie to sleep. She stayed asleep in her pack-and-play. Zelena shuffled towards the door in her pajamas and did not care who saw her in them. If they laughed she could kill them later. 

She opened it and was met with several bags covering a face, “A little help here, Z?”

She took a couple of the grocers brown bags and was pleased to see Lily.

“Mom said you guys needed some supplies.” 

Zelena let her in. “Desperately.”

Lily chuckled, “Thank God for my dragon immune system.”

Zelena grunted.

“Aw Z it isn’t so bad. I brought more drugs.” She wagged the white pharmacy bag.

“All is forgiven. Ozma praise you, my favorite niece.”

They went to the kitchen, “I’m your only niece.” She paused, “I hope.” She hopped up onto the counter as Zelena put the groceries away. “Where is my Mama-Daddy anyway?”

Regina ad Lily were slowly building a relationship and now could interact without her sister swooning.

“Asleep hopefully. Rolly had her up all night.”

Lilly winced, “Poor little dude.”

She hopped down. “Can I go peek in on her?”

Zelena smiled, she couldn’t help it. “Of course.”

She lead Lilly upstairs and was unsurprisingly to find Regina’s bedroom empty.

They found her in Roland’s bedroom, on the youth bed, feet and arm hanging off the side, with Roland sprawled across her. They both looked exhausted.  
Rolland let out a small whimper in his sleep. Regina’s hand immediately started to rub his back, soothing him back to deep sleep.

Lilly let out a small breath. “She really is a good mom, huh.”

“The best.”


	7. Parent Trap

Keeping Up With The Mills: Parent Trap

It was a nice day, if you like ass-numbingly-cold Maine winters. No villain of the week was trying to kill anyone and they were in the post holidays January slump. Everyone was partied out, broke and ready for Spring. It was days like these Lilly missed the city. Then again, the city didn’t have her family.

She breezed into Granny’s and sighed at the smell of hot coffee and grease. So good. Speaking of her family, Henry had his school books spread across one of the booth tables. He hand a half-full soda glass and a plate full of fried. He looked pissy, though. She slid into the booth, “Yo Bro.” She snagged a couple of his fries. “What are you up to?”

He ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. “Algebra.”

She raised her hands away from offensive material, “No thank you. I hated math in school. Well actually I just hated school period. You never ever use Algebra in real life you know. They should have classes about how loans and credit cards work. Taxes and shit like that. What else you got?”

Henry shook his head, obviously amused. “US History.”

She grabbed another couple of fries, “Pass.”

“And French.” He made a sour face when he said that.

“French? She picked up the language text book, “I thought you were taking Spanish cause your-our Mom.” She corrected herself because she really did want to think of Regina as her mom too.

“Yeah well she can teach me. We’re kinda close to Canada and having two languages will look good on my college app-”

His ears were turning red, so was his neck. Little Bro was lying and since she knew Emma she bet she knew why. “What’s her name?"

The deer in the headlights look was great. She let out a single loud "Ha!”

He started to stutter.

“Or his. I don’t judge.”

He was practically scarlet now. “Violet.” He mumbled it.

“Weird name for a dude.” She really couldn’t help herself. It was probably the darkness in her or something.

“Violet came over from Camelot and she’s you know, nice.”

She grinned, a huge shit-eating grin. “Nice? Sounds like twu wuv to me.”

Henry’s embarrassment was hilarious and when she finally stopped laughing she ordered him a cocoa as a peace offering. “I’m sorry, Henry. I’m kind of an asshole. In my defense, though, I am your older sister and bugging you is sort of my job.”

He rolled his eyes (and managed to look like both of his mothers at the same time).

“Seriously, though, dating is something I do know. I have skills with the ladies.”

He was still red. “Thanks I’m fine.” He paused, “But.” He twirled his mechanical pencil in his fingers, “Maybe you could help me with something else.”

She signaled Ruby (yum) for a soda of her own. “And what’s that?” 

He sighed. "When I was a kid Mom never dated, not really. She uh saw Sheriff Graham sometimes but it wasn’t love. The there was Robin and that sucked, like a lot.”

That was an understatement of massive proportions.

“And now she’s not dating, again.”

There were a whole lot of reasons that Regina (her Mama-Daddy) wasn’t dating. She was like the poster girl for broken hearts and a mom and a mayor and a freaking magician. It was sort of hard to fit dating into that schedule. Besides Storybrooke didn't show up on Tinder (she'd checked) “Henry-”

He pulled out yet another notebook. “I want her to be happy, don’t you?”

Well yeah but-

“So I was thinking maybe she’s already found her true love but she didn’t know it.”

Lily narrowed her eyes, “Yeah?”

“Someone she’s already close to. Someone that’s family. Someone who cares for her enough to share a kid.”

Holy shit. He didn’t mean…she ran it through her head. “You’re serious about this?”

He nodded.

"You want to set up our Mom with-"

“Mom!” They said it together and Lily realized she wasn’t sure if he meant his other mom or her other mom. Come to think of it, neither was she.

“Oh boy.”


	8. TLC

Keeping Up With The Mills: TLC

He wasn’t even sure why he was surprised. It was Storybrooke afterall. The peace couldn’t last, it never did. It was such…bullshit, though. Why did his family have to always be the heroes? When he had been a kid and the world had been black and white it had been so cool. Well he had thought it had been cool. Now he was older, wiser, and tired of hospitals and funerals. He was tired of worrying about which Mom might not come home.

His Ma paced off the waiting room, her fists buried in the pockets of her leather jacket. He had tried to ask her what had happened, but she hadn’t really answered him beyond reassuring him that everything would be okay.

Aunt Z was mad, really really mad. Like super mad, and she was not afraid to tell Ma that it was, apparently, all her fault. Hook had spoke up, or tried to, once. Lilly and Maleficent had physically held her back from attacking him. Ruby and Granny had Rolland and Robbie, and they hadn’t told Rolland what had happened because yet. They didn’t want to scare him.

Henry sort of wished he didn’t know either. He had watched them wheel his Mom back into the hospital. She had been so pale and still. Doctor Whale had shouted a bunch of medical things. Henry had made the mistake of google searching a few of the things he’d heard.

After what seemed like hours, Dr Whale finally came back out to see them. Emma rushed over first but Zelena stomped right up beside her. “I’m her sister.” 

Whale held up his hands. “Listen. There are procedures and all of Regina’s most recent paperwork names a power of attorney for medical situations. That was done back when Neal was born. 

Snow jumped out of her chair. 

“Ms Drake?” 

Emma, Snow and Zelena all whipped their heads around and glared. Maleficent only nodded, “Please just tell us.” 

She was going to be okay. She was alive and was going to be okay. Henry didn’t listen to the rest. He was just relieved that his Mom was okay.  
They would only let one person in to see her at a time. They didn’t want to let him because he was a minor but Lily told the nurse that they were going to see their Mom, period. No one wanted to argue with a dragon. They went in after Zelena and Maleficent but before anyone else. 

He had expected the wires, tubes and bandages but not how small his Mom was in the hospital bed. She’d always been larger than life to him.

“She’s gonna pull through. She’ll be kicking ass and taking names again in no time, Bro.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing her makeup. She leaned down and kissed Regina on her forehead. “Mama-Daddy.”

Henry kissed her forehead too, and wished with all his heart that this was a curse that true love could break. It wasn’t. “I love you, Mom.”

“C'mon Bro.“ Lily released her white-knuckled grip on the hospital bed’s rail. “My Mom gave me her Visa card. We’ll go buy a shit ton of flowers, balloons and ridiculous stuffed animals to cover up that ugly hospital wallpaper.” 

He nodded, “Okay.” He didn’t want to leave, but other people were waiting to check on Mom. As soon as they were out of the room, Emma walked by them, rushing to get to his Mom. Henry could tell she had been crying. “Ma.” 

She paused in the doorway to Regina’s room. “Yeah, Kid?” 

He hugged her, “It wasn’t your fault.” She hugged him tight and didn’t say anything.


	9. Weakness

Keeping Up With The Mills: Weakness

They were out of milk. That was all it took, an empty cartoon of milk for Zelena to crumble.

Three days. Regina had been in a coma for three damn days. She was powerless to help. She didn’t know how to use her magic to heal, only harm. All of her damn power and skill and she was as useless as Snow White. Ozma damn it. She threw the empty cartoon across the room and slammed the refrigerator shut.

She was shaking, trembling like a feeble old crone. She was tired, so tired. She was trying to stay strong for Regina and their family but it was hard.

She didn’t know how to do all of *this*. Maybe Cora was right. Maybe love was weakness. When she had been alone she’d never felt this scared or alone or stupidly useless.  
When she had wanted to rid the world of Regina, she had never imagined that she could love her. She hadn’t known that they both hated rainy days and loved The Godfather movie. She hadn’t known they both drank their tea with milk and folded their handkerchiefs the same way. She hadn’t know she’d laugh at Regina’s snarky jokes or want to stay up late watching Netflix with her. She hadn’t known she wold love her sister.

She slid down to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. Tears were flowing down her face and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. The kitchen was dark and the children were asleep. No one could see her weeping like a child. She was far from showing her best face. She was pretty sure that she was absolutely falling apart. She wrapped her arms around her knees and held herself tight, to keep her screams and sobs inside.

She couldn’t do this alone. She didn’t want to do it alone. Love was weakness, her weakness, apparently. Somehow, someway, the feared and loathed Wicked Witch had become a soft hearted cry baby.

She buried her face in her knees and sobbed. She wanted her Mum. Her Mum who was dead and buried. Her Mum who had loved and raised her. Her Mum who would love and spoil her granddaughter.

Zelena cried for her Mum. She cried for her sister. She cried for Robin and Rolland and bitterly wished that her time spell could fix his death. She cried for her father and for Hades (though maybe they didn’t deserve her tears) She cried for Cora (she definitely didn’t deserve more of her tears). Zelena cried for herself and all her wrongs. She cried for her precious few good deeds. She cried for her family.

She cried, for how long she wasn’t sure. Minutes, hours, all night. The only thing that stopped her tears was a small tug on her tee-shirt sleeve.

She lifted her head to find Rolland standing beside her. Her place on the floor put her eye to eye with the little boy.

His thick dark hair was sticking up all around his head and his dark eyes were wide and focused on her. His thumb was in his mouth.

She cleared her throat and wiped her tears quickly. “Oh Rolly, I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”

He shook his head, “Robbie” He spoke around his thumb at firs but slowly took it out, “She’s crying too.”

She had left the baby monitor upstairs. Zelena felt another sob building in her chest. It was quieted by two slender arms wrapping around her.

“I’m sorry, Lena. It’ll be okay.”

She turned and wrapped him up in her arms. He was a sweet boy and she didn’t deserve his care.

“Yes, My Little Munchkin, you’re right. It will all sort out.” She stood then picked Rolland up, “What do you say we go fetch your sister then we’ll all have a sleepover.”

He nodded his head and popped his thumb in his mouth, “Your room?”

She started up the stairs, “Yes.” 

He nodded sleepily against her shoulder. “That’s good.” His thumb came out again, “I had an accident in bed. I forgot my Goodnights.”

She looked down and noticed that his pajamas bottoms, originally green to match his dinosaur pajama top, were now patterned with black and yellow bats. 

“I’m sorry, Lena.”

She smiled at him. She should be cross or annoyed, or at the very least remind him to change into his Goodnights (though that was really her fault for not double checking) but she didn’t. “It’s okay, Rolly. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go get Robbie and cuddle up. Tomorrow we’ll take go take that card you and Robbie made for Regina to the hospital.”

No. Love wasn’t weakness. Zelena conceded, as she picked her fussy daughter out of her crib, it was strength. She had two babies in her arms and they gave her all the strength she needed.


	10. Flowers

Keeping Up With The Mills: Flowers

The room smelled of twelve different flowers. The mix of roses, hydrangeas, lilies, daisies and several others covered the smell of antiseptic and latex gloves. Maleficent had quickly found that she hated hospitals. While medicine had, obviously, moved forwards by leaps and bounds in this realm, she would have preferred to have Regina at home so she could care for her with potions, salves and magic. The rest were all determined to keep her in this hospital, though. Maleficent begrudgingly had to admit that it was probably for the best. 

She didn’t trust the doctor or the nurses, though. Not by a long shot. The others, surprisingly, felt the same. So someone was always with her: Lily, Zelena, Emma or even Snow White. She would not wake up alone. Maleficent just wanted her to wake up. She was so pale, and so still. She had almost died. Maleficent shuddered once again at that thought. Regina,her little witch, had almost died. Regina, the other-mother of her precious daughter, had almost died. She had lived centuries and had seen countless mortals die. That’s what humans did. They died. 

She wrapped her hands around one of Regina’s limp and cool hands. There was a tube, an IV they called it, taped into the top of it. So Maleficent pressed her kiss to Regina’s palm. 

“Wake up, Little Witch. You have been resting for long enough.” She sighed, tired and sick with worry. “You always loved to laze around in bed when I let you get away with it.” It was easy to slip into those memories. Lily had been conceived on one of those long afternoons. Regina had taken a break from her quest for vengeance, just before she’d become obsessed with The Curse. She had visited for almost a week. She’d flown them to the sea. She was relatively sure their daughter had been a product of a twilight tryst where the waves had lapped at them as she and Regina had been lost in each other. 

That had been so long ago. So much had changed. She had changed. Regina had changed. The whole world had changed. She rested on her elbow and kept Regina’s hand trapped between her own. 

She sat there, willing Regina to wake up, for two hours. Then Regina’s finger twitched in her grasp. Maleficent’s head jerked up and she watched, heart in her throat, as Regina’s eyes fluttered.

She breathed deeply and coughed a little and finally her eyes opened.

“Mal?”

Her voice was gruff and rusty from five days of disuse. It was beautiful.

“Hello again, my Little Witch.” 

Regina blinked and tried to sit up. Maleficent pressed her back down. “Not so fast. You need to stay calm and still.”  
Regina moved her fingers, slow and shaky, to intertwine them with her own. Maleficent kissed her knuckles again and smoothed a lock of dark hair out of her eyes.

“You had us all very worried.”

She watched Regina’s eyes slowly track around the room,taking in the flowers and well wishes. “All this? For me?”

Maleficent smiled even as her heart clenched. Underneath the bravado and the magic there was still a girl who had been treated like a thing instead of a person. Behind the Evil Queen was a sweet woman who only wanted to love and be loved in return. 

“How long?”

Maleficent came back to the moment. “Five days.” 

She pressed the Nurse’s call button and ran her fingers across Regina’s cheek. The once livid bruises had started to heal leaving greens and yellows. Signs of the battle, reminders of how close she’d come to burying her Little Witch. “Too long, Regina. I-we almost lost you.”

Regina looked away, “It was-”

“Foolish? Reckless? Heroic? You don’t have to risk your life to prove that you’re not the damn Evil Queen anymore.” 

She was angry and relieved and she just-she couldn’t stop the words from flowing out of her.

“You’re so many things to so many people. A mother, a sister, a friend, and I-” 

Tears overflowed her eyes, “Promise me you won’t do anything like this again. If the Charmings want to risk their stupid selves saving Storybrooke,let them.”

“Mama-Daddy?”

Lily stood at the doorway, “You’re awake.” She sat the take-out bag on a chair, and came straight to the bed. 

“We were so worried.”

Regina smiled and raised her other arm, laden with tubes and wires, to touch Lily’s face.

“You have-” She rasped, “my father’s eyes.” 

“Really?” Lily grabbed Regina’s hand and then Maleficent’s own. Her family, as unconventional as they were, was right here.

“And your mother’s smile. Best of both of us.”

Lily sniffed a little, “You’re loopy from the drugs, Mama-Daddy.” She sniffed again, “I gotta text Henry and Z. They’ll be so friggin’ happy you’re awake.”

Doctor Whale and one of the nurses came in to check on Regina, and though they none-too-politely asked her to move, Maleficent couldn’t because Regina wouldn’t let go of her hand and no power in this realm or any other could make Maleficent let go either.


	11. Netflix

Keeping Up With The Mills: Netflix

  
  


"I'm fine, I promise. I don't need-"

 

Zelena flicked her fingers and suddenly her voice was gone. Zelena winked at her.

 

"Learned that trick from my sister."

 

Regina crossed her arms over her chest, extremely annoyed. Not really with Zelena, just with everything. She didn't like being sick or hurt, and she was a little (a lot) of both.

She'd been out of the hospital for two days and she still felt weak and useless, two things she hated. Her magic was rebuilding and she was recovering, but it was slow.

She had awoke in the hospital surrounded by flowers and well wishes. The room had been, in fact, over-flowing. Her family and friends had spent time with her while she'd been unconscious. The whole thing had been completely overwhelming.

 

There had even been cards and tokens from people in the town. People that she hadn't ever thought of as friends. People she had been pretty sure thought of her as an enemy. There had even been a card signed by each of the dwarves.

 

She wasn't sure how to handle the situation. She hadn't known anyone to care, not really, outside of her father and Daniel, and they had both been gone a very long time. Now she was surrounded by so many people and they all wanted to...take care of her.

 

Right now Zelena was fluttering over her like a mother hen. Lilly had Roland and Robbie out for the day and Henry was visiting the Charmings. Her-their house was quiet. It was odd, she wasn't used to the quiet anymore.

 

Zelena, after a fluffing pillows and playing with the remote control, gave her back her voice then disappeared into the kitchen.  Regina smiled a little, because though this was not how she expected having a sister would be she fould that she liked it.

 

Zelena bustled into the room with a tray overflowing with junk-food and several bottles of pills that "Doctor" Whale insisted she take.

 

"We can't eat that in here."  It was the Den and while she sometimes let Henry and eat popcorn in her, a tray laden with food most certainly not allowed.

 

"Of course we can. We're the adults and you're recuperating. Everyone assures me that all you're supposed to do is sleep, nibble and watch lots of television."

 

Regina chuckled, she couldn't help it. "Miss Swan is not a qualified physician."

 

Zelena handed her a rootbeer, "Granny told me that, actually. Smart old wolf."

Zelena sat the tray on the coffee table and settled in on the couch beside her. "Stop hogging the cover." She playfully elbowed at Regina even though the throw was plenty large enough for the both of them.

 

She pulled the blanket up to her chin and smirked.

  
Somehow, she wasn't precisely sure, but they ended up binge watching the first season of Orange is the New Black. They were comfortably settled on the couch together. They were, much to Regina's surprise, cuddling.  She hadn't cuddled with anyone but Henry in many many years.  It was nice, in an odd sort of way.  She decided not to kill her sister and leaned her head against Zelena's shoulder while the show flipped between episodes.  The medication that Whale gave her made her sleepy and between that, the blanket and the comfort of having someone close, she let her eyes slide shut.  She was safe and loved, the only things she had ever wanted to be.


	12. Home

Keeping Up With The Mills: Home

(Part 12)

  
  


It was supposed to have been her time with the Kid. She and Henry barely got any time with eachother anymore. There was always something going on or someone else hanging around. She missed the days when it was just her and The Kid in the big city. 

 

Admittedly most of those memories had been fake, but still.

 

Take today, for example, it was her, Henry, and Neal. She had lucked out and ended up babysitting Neal. It wasn't that she didn't like her little brother, she did. It was just-Emma sighed internally. She wasn't used to all this family stuff.

 

She had always imagined having a huge and loving family, and now she did. Reality, though, was way different then her childhood fantasies. Especially when your parents happened to be the same age as you and magic was real.

 

The bell over the door jingled and Emma looked away from her cheeseburger to see another piece of the puzzle that was her life walk in.

 

"Let's get a milk shake, Little Man."

 

Lilly, Roland and Little Robyn (what was with these people and naming babies after dead dudes?) walked in. Well, Lily walked and Robyn was in her carrier, little feet and fists moving to a rhythm that only the infant could hear.

 

Emma winced as Henry waved them over.

 

"Bro." Lily grinned at Henry, "Emma."

 

Lily was a little cooler, a little shorter, with her. Since she'd held a gun in her face, Emma figured it was probably sort of her fault.

 

"Emma!"

 

Roland came over and hugged her. She couldn't help but smile and hug him back. Poor kid had been through a lot of rough patches for someone so young. She could relate.

"Hey Buddy"

 

He was all dark curls, dimples and concentrated cuteness and it was physically impossible not to smile at him.

 

She turned to Lily, "How did you get babysitting duty?"

Henry had already stood and helped get the baby carrier (which was way heavier than it looked) into the booth opposite of her and then moved his stuff over to her side of the table so Lilly and Roland squeezed in.

 

She had gone to the Enchanted Forest, Neverland, Camelot, Actual Hell and this was still probably the weirdest thing that had happened to her. She was sitting in front of her childhood pal surrounded by kids-by babies. Two girls who had been pretty much the poster-teens for anti-family values had found themselves with magical families.

That was the really unbelievable part of the whole fairy-tale thing.

 

Lily gave her order to Ruby then relaxed, one arm throw over the back of the booth.

"Regina is still recovering and Zelena is exhausted. Figured they needed a day off."

 

Guilt washed over Emma yet again. Regina had almost died, again. No matter what anyone said, she knew damn well that it was her fault. Regina had stepped in to protect her, after all.

 

The conversation, stilted and uncomfortable for Emma, was quickly taken over by Henry and Roland with the occasional babble or cry from Robyn or Neal.

 

Time wound down and, again somehow, she found herself on the way to Mifflin street with Henry and the rest of what Emma suddenly realized, were the "Mills Children".

Lily let them into the manor with her key (even though Emma didn't have her own key and Regina had known her for a hell of a lot longer) Roland and Henry took Robyn up to her nursery. 

 

Emma followed Lily to the den and was stuck by what she saw.

The TV was on and the glow of Netflix cast light and shadow on the couch where the two Mills sisters were snuggled up, fast asleep.

 

"Holy crap!" Lily hissed, "They are so cute." She tilted her head, "You can actually sort of see the resemblance."

 

She could see it. She never had before, but it was rare to see both Regina and Zelena together and still at the same time.  It was in the slant of jawline and the curl of their hair. It was in the chin and the way their faces relaxed in sleep.

 

Beside her Lily snapped a picture with her iphone. "This will look awesome on the fridge."

 

It would. It would be a nice candid picture of the sisters to decorate their home. Because the Manor was a home, full of family and love. Regina's home. Zelena's home. Lily's home.

Emma thought about her house and the emptiness it held. People passed through it: Henry for a weekend, Hook for a night, her parents for a visit. It was like so many other group homes, apartments and motel rooms Emma had stayed, a place.

Mifflin was a home and though she didn't want to admit it, this home was where her heart was.


	13. Family Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Roland chapter. In this universe, Regina felt that keeping Roland with her and their family was better than sending him to Sherwood Forest. Regina adopted him because she a) loves him b) believes that love and not blood makes a family and c) She and Zelena decided to raise he and his sister together because they want the siblings to know each other because they see it as important based on their own experiences.
> 
> Also he is adorable.

Keeping Up With The Mills: Family Tree  
(13)

His teacher had sent a note home in his folder. No one else had gotten a note. Well, Jasper had a note, but he always had a note because he was always moved all the way down the behavior chart to Rowdy Red. Roland was always in Best Blue except that one time he had moved down to Yucky Yellow for saying a bad word. He'd had a note that day too, but his Mama had been madder at Little John and Will for supposedly teaching him the word than at him for saying it. He didn't tell her that it had actually been Lily. He didn't want her to get in trouble.

Something was wrong with his project. He thought it had been great. Lily and Henry had helped him. They'd used pictures and markers and glitter and stickers and it had been on a whole poster-board instead of a dumb-old piece of construction paper. He didn't know why Miss Lane didn't like it. Everyone in class had thought it was great. Maybe it was a grown-up thing?

It was Friday and his Mama Gina was waiting for him outside of school. She was better now. She had been hurt and sick for a while, but now she was better. She was back to being Madam Mayor (That's what Emma called her) so she went to her office every day instead of being at home.

He had liked it best when she was at home. The office was boring. He didn't want to go there. It was nice and sunny and he wanted to go to the park or home to play in the back yard.

He didn't say that, though. He didn't want to be a bother. He didn't want her to send him back to live in the woods. He liked his room and bubble baths and his family. The Merry Men were nice, like a family too, but that made him think of his Daddy, which made him sad. Mr. Archie said that was okay, but sometimes Roland felt bad that he liked his Mama Regina and Aunt Lena better than the Merry Men.

"Roland? Are you okay, Sweetheart?"

He looked up and realized that he'd stopped at the bottom of the steps and Mama and Henry were waiting on him by the car. He hurried over to them. "Yeah." It was a fib, but only a little one.

He was happy to see that instead of going to the office they did go home. He and Henry worked on bike riding (it was hard) and Mama and Lena and Mallie sat at the table and had tea and talked (that was boring).

Saturday he got to play with Pinocchio in the park all day. Then we he got home Emma and Lily had a big sheet up in the backyard and when it got dark they got to watch The Lion King and Star Wars outside. They had hot dogs, pop corn, lemonade, and cake. The yard was full of people and Mr. Marco said that Pinocchio could stay all night. It was a sleep over, and he'd never had that before. He had so much fun that he forgot about his note.

He forgot about his note until lunch time on Sunday. Mama Gina was going over Henry's homework (He wasn't sure what an essay was, but it seemed like a lot of work). Lena and Lily were talking about something (grown ups were always talking) and playing with Robbie.

He was looking through one of Henry's comic books (Superman mostly) and everything was great.

"Rolly" His Mama looked up, her reading glasses half-way down her nose. "Can you get me your school folder so I can sign it for tomorrow?"

He didn't answer out loud, but he nodded and got up from his place on the grass. He took his time going to his room. He stopped on each stair and wondered if, maybe, he could throw the note away. If Mama Regina didn't see it, then she couldn't be mad at him. He knew that wouldn't work. Jasper said that if the teacher didn't get the note back signed by his Mom, then she would call her at work. He really didn't want that.  
He came back down the stairs, his folder in one hand and his thumb in his mouth. He was scared and his thumb helped him feel brave even though it made him look like a baby.

Roland walked slowly, the toe of his sneakers dragged with each step across the floor. He handed over the folder and sucked on his thumb. He was trying to think of what to say, how to say it. He watched her flip through the pages showing all his work for the week. She was smiling, her brown eyes happy and squinty behind her glasses. Then she stopped. He knew why. The note. She looked over the folder, her lips turned into a thin line. 

“Henry Daniel Mills!”

Roland blinked, what?

“Ha!” Lily snorted and laughed, “You got middle-named.”

“Lilith Wilhelmina Drake Mills!”

“Ha right back at you, Sis.”

Mama was not amused. “Will one of explain to me why Roland’s family tree has pictures of Disney characters on it?” She flicked her wrist and the poster board that Henry had helped him carry to school that morning appeared in a poof of purple magic. The bottom row of pictures and names were of Roland, Henry, Lily and Robbie. Lily had taken them with her phone-camera. Each picture was of a smiling face and two thumbs up, they had even gotten Robbie to show a big three-toothed grin. Above that there were several pictures from Disney movies. The Evil Queen from Snow White and the green-skinned Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. His Mommy and Daddy were fox-people and Henry’s grandparents were te Snow White and Prince Charming cartoons. 

“That is hilarious.” 

Lena held Robbie on her hip and was smiling at his project.

“You obviously didn’t notice your representation, Greenie.”

Lily held up her hands, “Come on, Z. You can’t go wrong with the classics.”

The scary green witch from the Wizard of Oz movie didn’t look at all like Lena, she didn’t even have the same color of hair. He hadn’t quite gotten why it was funny, but Lily and Henry had laughed and laughed and laughed. 

“Rude!”

Gina Mama was upset. “I can’t believe you’d do this! What sort of terrible joke to play at his expense! Making fun of his family! I can’t believe you would be so cruel.” 

She sputtered and was turning red. “You-you two-you’re both grounded!”

“Mom!” Henry protested.

“Seriously?!” Lily’s mouth was wide open.

“I can’t believe this.” She pulled off her glasses. “THe last thing this family needs is more problems!”

He tried to hold his tears in, because Merry Men didn’t cry. He couldn’t help it, though.

“I’m sorry.”

He spoke around his thumb because if he took out his thumb he really would start to cry like a baby.

“It was my idea. I thought it was okay to put everyone on there.” He really had thought it was okay.

“I’m not really yours and I only had one picture of Mommy and Daddy and-and-” He didn’t have Mills at the end of his name-everyone else did. Maybe he should go back into the woods-he would always be a Merry Man.

Lena hadn’t wanted him and Gina didn’t want him and now he had gotten Lily and Henry grounded and they wouldn’t like him either.

He started to cry, like a baby.

“Oh Roland.”

Gina picked him up in a big hug. She kissed his forehead. “Oh Baby, no. I’m not mad at you because you put us all on your family tree. You are apart of this family. I would never-ever want you to think you weren’t.”

She held him close and rocked him back and forth. “I am never going to replace your Mommy or your Daddy, but I do love you just like I do Henry and Lily. You’re my son too, if you want to be. You’re at home here.”

A sloppy baby kiss landed on his cheek and he realized that Lena and Robbie were standing right beside him.

Lena ran her fingers through his hair. 

“Let’s fix our family tree with real pictures this time.” She smiled at him, “We’ll all help. Your brother and your sisters too.”

He sniffed and snorted and wiped his eyes. “Are Lily and Henry still in trouble?”

Both Lena and Mama said “Yes.”

Everyone laughed.

Roland felt all the tightness go out of his chest and tummy. He was home, and he had a family and his name, which he wrote in big green letters by his new picture on the poster was Roland Lochley Mils.


	14. Old Times

Keeping Up With the Mills: Old Times

(14)

She stared at the selection and and sank her hands into her back pockets. Emma wasn't sure what to grab. For a small town Storybrooke Grocery had a lot of selection. There were a ton of option, like name brand options. For someone who had survived on off-brands of off-brands it was great. Plus due to the curse everything still had a 1984 pricetag. Of course she still had a 1984 salary too. Her official Sheriff pay wasn’t too shabby, Emma supposed, but she might want to talk to The Mayor about a raise.

Then again, if she had to watch Regina play happy-family anymore then she already did, she would probably puke. She got enough of that crap from David and Snow. Now Regina was suddenly the poster-child of blended families and happily-freaking-ever-after. And her? Well she got to decide which flavor of friggin’ poptart to buy her sad-self.

“Still with these things?”

Emma turned, Lily was leaning against a shopping cart and suddenly it was old times. 

“You’re not going to stick it under your jacket this time are you? I mean I wouldn’t want to call the 5-0 on you.”

She grabbed a box of smores flavored poptarts and tossed it into her own shopping cart (it went great with the beer and the frozen pizzas) “I am the 5-0, Lily.”

She balanced her weight on the bars of the shopping cart. “Oh yeah. That’s even weirder.”

She grabbed a box of frosted mini-wheats and crossed it off a list. Then she grabbed the largest box of cheerios she could find. “Why do tiny humans love these things so much? They taste like ass.” She grabbed another box, Frosted Flakes (Henry’s favorite) and dumped it into her cart too. She was, Emma realized, shopping or Regin’s house.

“You’re doing Regina’s shopping?”

Lily shrugged and started to push the cart further down the aisle. “Z is terrorizing the Mommy and Me group and Mama-Daddy is doing some kind of Saturday meeting or something. It was either this or magic lessons with my Mom and that’s a buzz-kill so here I am.

“Because me being the Sheriff is so much weirder than being a magical-lesbian-dragon-baby.”

They went to the next aisle and continued their shopping. 

“Eh, I was raised by Republicans, this is actually pretty cool. Once you get past all the magic and fairytale shit, I finally feel right.”

It made sense, sort of, but it had taken Emma years to come to terms with her strange life and origins. Hell, half the time she didn’t even call her parents Mom and Dad. Lily, though, had just dived right in. She even called Regina by the incredibly annoying term of Mommy-Daddy (and didn’t that just make Regina smile like she’d been handed the moon and all the stupid stars)

“Yeah, well, I heard you were grounded Wilhelmina.”

Emma tossed a box of dried spaghetti and a huge jar of sauce into her cart. 

Lily shrugged, “Punishment rescinded. Well sort of. Now she wants professional pictures made of all of us. Probably so she can put them on the mantle or something.” She picked through a couple of bags of rice, “I just hope Z doesn’t talk her into some sort of big group portrait with matching sweaters or some shit. Z got really excited about cameras. Apparently they weren’t really a thing in Oz.”

Emma threw an aerosol can of cheese (well it was almost cheese) into her cart with a clang.

“How are you just so-cool about all of this?”

Emma pushed her hand through her hair, “I mean here’s the thing. This whole town is nuts. The family situation is even more nut. You’ve been here a handful of months and suddenly it’s a Mills Family Christmas card? Jesus H Christ, Lily! Henry told me you legally changed your name to Drake-Mills!”

Lily propped her boot-clad foot on the cart, “So? I found my family. My real parents who never-ever wanted to give me up. I was taken away from them. Regia didn’t even know about me, which in hindsight was probably a good thing because she would have apparently gone ape-shit and turned all of Fairy Tale World into The Hunger Games or some shit. They opened their lives and homes to me with no questions or expectations. They both love me, like a lot. I have learned about being a dragon and having magic and for the first time ever I feel at home. I got a second chance and a family who understands that I have darkness in me and they accept that. Why the hell, after all this time, wouldn’t I embrace that? Why haven’t you? I mean you have the same opportunity here.”

She didn’t. Unlike Lily she didn’t have a magical patchwork family. She was a Charming, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, The Savior. She’d had to fight and learn and fall and redeem. She had literally gone to hell to back for her happily ever after and she still wasn’t freaking happy

What did Lily-Come-Lately know anyway? Had it not been for her, Lily wouldn’t even have her happy family.

“Whatever. Easy for you to say. You get everything handed to you. You weren’t here for the fighting and the curses and Neverland. You didn’t see the Evil Queen or the Mistress of All Evil or the Wicked Witch wreak havoc down on this town. I watched your Mommy-Daddy set people on fire, Lily. She isn’t all freaking unicorns and rainbow stickers.” She grabbed the pop tarts (the only thing she’d come into the store for anyway!) and started to walk away before she punched her dear old friend in the face.

“You talk a lot of shit for someone who has a giant lesbian crush on my her!”

Emma’s entire body went stiff and he had two options, fight or flight. She could go back and clock Lily for running or mouth, or she could save face and leave before her own father had t arrest her for assault. 

She stomped out of the grocery store and back towards her empty ass house. She w so mad she walked right past her car. People dodged out of her way and turned to look at her as she stomped and swore under her breath.

Screw Lily. Screw her two doting mothers. Screw the entire freaking Mills Family, Henry included since he was such a big fan of them. Screw The Charmings. Screw Storybrooke. Screw Fairytales. Screw Regina and her probably screwing-around-with-Maleficent-self. They were probably busy making another freaking magical lesbian baby anyway.

Freaking magic!

Two blocks later she had calmed down a bit and realized that she still had the pop-tarts in her hand and she hadn’t paid for them.

“Damn it!”


	15. Domestic Bliss

Keeping Up With the Mills: Domestic Bliss  
(15)

Some days the manor wasn’t big enough for the Mills family. Some days Regina was pretty sure the Eastern Seaboard wasn’t big enough.  
Her half-sister was so…she was just so…she was a raging bitch in borrowed heels. All she had said was that Zelena should think about giving Robbie more solid food choices. Things had gone downhill from there.

It wasn’t as if Regina hadn’t raised a child. Why did Zelena fight her on everything? She was stubborn and brash and sometimes she was downright lewd. Sometimes she wondered if they were really related, then Zelena would say something cutting and cruel, and pure Cora. 

Okay, so maybe she wasn’t exactly the best hostess. She tried, she really did. She just had a certain way she needed thing to be. It was hard to vocalize that sometimes. Of course, most of the time the house was a circus of running children and chores.

“Why are you being such a child, Zelena? It was a simple suggestion!”

“Oh!” The redhead came back at her, “Just a suggestion! Everything is just a suggestion. You’re a control freak, Regina! Ozma forbid a single thing in your perfect little castle be out of place! No wonder your son believed you were the Evil Queen so quickly!”

Regina’s temper rose quickly in her chest like a fire. “And you have room to talk? Really! Where do I start? Wicked. Witch. You threw me through the clock tower because Mother didn’t want her own episode of sixteen and pregnant then you posed as Marion and then-”

“Oh it’s all in the past until you are mad and want to bring it all up. Oh wonderful Regina who is perfect and redeemed and so much better than everyone else!”

Regina was glad the children were away, Their happy little home wasn’t exactly an example of domestic bliss.


	16. Just Friends

Keeping Up With the Mills: Just Friends  
(16)

"You stuck-up, spoiled, little princess, half-trained witch.." A vase flew through the air and shattered against the wall. Regina stood a few feet away from where crystal had violently met wall. Her hands curled into fists and fire danced across her knuckles. The vein in her forehead pounded . She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by the wailing cry of a toddler.

"Go tend to your spawn."

Despite her fury, her voice was ice cold. Regina spun on her heel and left her sister standing in the dining room. She didn't say another word, but she slammed the front door hard enough to make picture frames rattle on the wall. 

Zelena picked her daughter up out of her pack-and-play and kissed her little copper-curled-girl. "She'll be back, Robbie. We've just had a little spat." She blinked away her own tears, "and Auntie Regina is just a bit upset."

A "bit upset" was something of an understatement. Regina Mills was furious. She stormed down the street and people moved out of her way. No one wanted to feel the Evil Queen's wrath. 

Grumpy watched her storm by and backed against the wall of Gepetto's Hardware store. Regina didn't even bother to pause and make a dwarf joke. 

"Oh shit." Grumpy pulled out his cell phone.

***  
Emma groaned when her cell phone rang. All she wanted to do was kick back, drink her afternoon soda and beat the impossible level of Candy Crush she'd been working on for three days strait. It was Saturday and she was stuck at work because David had taken Henry,Roland and some of their friends camping. Camping because a bunch of people, who had actually lived in the Dark Ages, liked to sleep outside and cook over an open fire and poop in the woods. No thank you. All things considered, she'd take work over that. So she had. Still, though, she didn't want to actually do things.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Sister." 

Emma leaned back in her chair and almost groaned. Just the dwarf she hadn't wanted to hear from.

"Hey Grumpy. What's up?"

He proceeded to tell (yell) at her that Regina had descended back into her Evil Queen self. It sounded like she was pissed. As someone that had been on Regina's bad side a time or two (or a million), Emma felt sorry for whoever had made her mad.

"She went down to the docks, so either she's going to set the ocean on fire or beat up your boyfriend." He chuckled, "Actually either would be pretty funny to watch."

Emma let her feet drop off of the corner of her desk and sat up strait. "I'm on my way-and Killian is not my boyfriend."

Grumpy chuckled again, "Speaking of not-boyfriends. Maybe you should just call the Dragon Lady. She seems to be able to calm Her Royal Evilness down pretty well. If you know what I'm sayin'."

Emma knew what he was sayin'. She wished she didn't but she did.

"It's not like that. They're just friends. Like old friends."

Now Grumpy laughed, full on horse laughed at her through the phone. "Yeah because they had Lily through friendship. That Pony show is right, friendship really is magic."  
She hung up the phone but she could still hear him laughing at her. Jerk. 

She stood up, grabbed her red leather jacket. Regina needed to blow off some steam. It had been coming for a while. She'd been juggling her now large and crazy family with being a full time mayor and a part time hero and had taken exactly zero time for herself. She'd even tried to be Madam Mayor from her hospital bed. Zelena, Snow and Maleficent had stopped her, but Emma had to admit watching Regina try to boss people around wearing a hospital gown and reading glasses had been too cute for words. Not that she'd ever say that, except to herself, but she hadn't because-

Because, Emma reminded herself as she started walking down towards the docks, she did not have any sort of crush on Regina. Not a little one, not a big lesbian one, none. No matter what Ruby, Will Scarlet, Zelena, Lily, Henry, Archie or anyone said. They were friends who happened to share a kid and risked their lives to save each other from danger, and sometimes they almost-kissed. But only sometimes and definitely almost.

She found Regina at the docks by the benches. She was staring out at the ocean, her hands wrapped around the dock's railing. From her posture and Grumpy's story, it wasn't hard to figure out that Regina was upset. Emma didn't even need to see her face. She strolled up and stood beside her. She propped herself up on the railing and leaned over to stare down at the still chilly late spring sea.

"Hey."

Regina didn't even look at her. 

"Miss Swan."

Ouch. Not even fair. As far as she knew she hadn't been the one to piss Regina off, it was hardly fair that she got demoted to Miss Swan.  
"So-" She leaned over and bumped her shoulder against Regina's. "who should I go punch in the nose?"

Regina finally turned to look at her, "What?"

Emma grinned, "Well My Queen-slash-Mayor is upset so I, as you Sheriff-slash-Knight have to defend you. I should take up arms and fight for your honor."  
She said it all with a totally strait face, which was hard. 

Regina blinked at her, "What on Earth are you talking about?"

Emma grinned, "Oh C'mon, you know it's true. Every Queen gets, like, a Champion. I mean even on Game of Thrones."

Regina sniffed, "That show is highly innacu-" 

"Admit it, Your Majesty, I would make a bad ass Champion. I even slayed a dragon for you that one time."

"You mean Maleficent?"

Regina cocked a regal brow.

Okay, so that had been a bad example.

"Uh also I was a wraith-wrangler and um-" She paused, "other stuff."

Some of the tension went out of Regina and she relaxed a little. "Stuff? Your command of language is astounding."

Emma leaned over the rail again, "I'm a better listener."

Regina wavered, "It's not something that-"

Emma moved her hand across the rail and covered Regina's own. Her fist was so tight that her knuckles had blanched white. "Okay, so we won't talk. I've got an idea. Do you trust me?"

Regina's lips, painted her signature bright red, quirked into a small smile. "A little."

That was how they ended up at the High School's baseball field.

"Miss Swa-"

Emma pulled Regina along by the hand, "It's Emma."

"Emma" Regina huffed, "This is trespassing."

Emma chuckled, "You're the Mayor and I'm the Sheriff. We're fine."

She lead her to the far side of the field. 

"What is this?" 

Emma opened the gate on the high chain link fence. "You need to relax so I figured you could take some of your frustration out-you know not on your sister's face."  
Emma grabbed one of the aluminum bats that one of the baseball team members had left laying and concentrated hard and proofed a batting helmet into her hands. It was black with a gold crown on it. It was fit for a queen.

"I've never-"

Regina looked well and truly out of her royal element.

"I'll show you."

After a few hours of whacking balls with sticks, Regina's words, they headed back to Granny's. Emma bought Regina dinner, and insisted that she have something other then kale salad. 

"Thank you, Emma." 

Emma looked up from her BLT and fries. "Anytime, Regina. You know you can talk to me, or blow off steam with me anytime. I'm here for you. I mean, that's what friends are for."

Regina's dark eyes were unreadable. "Friends?"

Emma gulped down her milkshake. That sounded like a loaded question and she wasn't sure what to do with it.

"Yeah. Friends, family and occasionally your Champion."

Regina's lips quirked again, "You keep using that word, Miss Swan. I do not think it means what you think it means."

She stood up and left a fifty dollar bill on the table. 

"What does it mean?"

Regina walked away, but paused at the door, "Good night,Emma." The door shut behind her with a little cling of a bell.

"What the hell just happened?"

Ruby walked by and snagged the cash off the table, "You're so far up De-Nial that you found the pyramids, Ems."  
Emma threw a napkin at her.

***

Zelena looked up when the door opened and closed. Her sister walked in the room and looked much calmer then she had when she'd left.

"It looks like" She coo'ed at Robbie, "that someone took the stick out of your Auntie's rump." She grinned, "She looks much happier, doesn't she?"  
Regina ignored her, but took the baby in her arms.

"Your Mother is a pain in my rump. Yes she is." 

Robbie, oblivious to what was actually happening, grabbed at Regina's dark hair and then put it strait into her mouth. Regina didn't seem to mind.

"Have you decided to behave like an adult?" Her tone was light and conversational, but it was a serious question.

Zelena stretched, "Have you remembered that you are my baby sister and not my-or Robbie's-mother?"

Regina sat down on the couch beside her. "I am your sister and her aunt and if you ever compare me to Cora again, I'll light you on fire."

That was, probably, the closest they would get to an apology or an agreement. They were very different and also very much alike, which would always cause issues, Zelena supposed. They were still adjusting and without Henry and Roland as buffers, they tended to clash. They were sisters, and those things happened. They were also both prone to temper tantrums and grudge-holding and that hadn't ended up working out well before.

"And I am happy for all the help and advice, and the lovely home you've opened to me...even if you are a pain."

Regina bounced Robbie, "You are a pain, but a tolerable one, I suppose."

Zelena relaxed and smiled. That was it. Fight over, apologies (such as they were) issued. They could go back to normal, as normal as things got for them.  
"So-" She turned her head to the side, "Ruby told me that she saw you and Em-ma."

Regina let out a groan, Robbie giggled and Zelena smirked. "Just friends, huh?"


	17. Sand, Surf and Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of an excuse to put all the ladies in bathing suits. Sorry, not sorry.

Sand, Surf and  Sun

(17)

July in Storybrooke was just about the only month of the year that the sea warmed up enough to swim in.  The entire town practically took a month-long holiday to enjoy it.  Every afternoon and all weekend long the beach was the place to be.

The Mills Family was no exception.  It was a beautiful, cloudless, and very hot Saturday and the entire Mills Family had staked out a prime piece of beach real estate.  It was Robbie and Roland's first beach day.  They were both excited. Roland was practically jumping up and down in his brand new Bugs Bunny swimming trunks and Robbie, well, Zelena was just trying to make sure she didn't eat her weight in sand.

"Please explain this to me again."  Zelena put a bright green bucket hat on her daughter's head to keep the sun off the baby's face.  "We are in the United States of America, but not officially a part of the United States."

Regina, stretched out on a lounge chair just outside of the protective shade of the large umbrellas she'd planted into the sand, lifted her sunglasses.  "Essentially."

Zelena frowned, her fair skin was already red despite the shade and the sunscreen she had liberally applied, "So why are we celebrating American Independence Day?"

Regina lowered her glasses again, "Because Henry likes the fireworks."

Speaking of Henry, he along with Roland had already run into the water.  The beach was full of townsfolk in various stages of dress.  Most were wearing bathing suits, but some were unused to the state of undress that those who had lived through the first curse took with a grain of salt.  Some women were bolder than others in their bathing suits.  Zelena, not quite comfortable with the entire idea of bathing suits, was in a dark green one-piece with a sarong wrap that covered her thighs.  Regina, on the other hand, was wearing a black bikinni with gold accents and did not seem to care what people thought or how many of them stared.  Robbie was wearing a bright pink and yellow suit that was more ruffles then anything else.  

Their little beach encampment grew exponentially when the Charmings arrived.  Neal joined Robbie in the sand and Snow had a billowing sundress over what might have been a bathing suit.  Maleficent joined them, though on the opposite side of the group then the Charmings, and seemed totally comfortable and confident in her own iridescent purple one piece.  It had scales patterned into it, which made some chuckle and others shuddered.

Emma and Lily were, as people who had actually grown up in the United States, the most patriotic in their garb.  Lily's bikinni was decorated with stars and stripes.  It was also tied for the smallest bikini on the beach (Ruby was in a heated volleyball match in her tiny red swimsuit).  Emma had a blue bikini top and stars and stripes board shorts on.  

Henry was avoiding all of them and trying to look cool for Violet.

Several people had brought their boom-boxes and the beach was raucous with music that ranged from Beach Boys to Nirvana to Beyonce and several genres and songs in between.  The smell of salt mixed with barbecue smoke in the air as several grills dotted the beach.  

Maleficent and Zelena were sitting together trying to puzzle-out Independence Day.  Snow tried to explain it, but the two sorceresses had, apparently, decided that it was more fun to mock the holiday then learn about it.

Emma and Lily were trying (and so-far-failing) to lure Regina into the water.  Charming was in the water with the children, playing more than watching over them.  Regina kept a sharp eye on the sun, the tide and everyone's sun exposure.  She insisted on re-applying sunscreen, and at one point, made Henry put on a tee-shirt to prevent sunburn.  She, however, didn't seem to be effected by the sun.  She bathed in it and had a healthy glow.  Lily was much the same, her skin quickly tanned but did not burn.  Emma vocally hated them both.  Snow, pale as her name, grumbled about their luck.

Eventually, though, the sun set.  The water quickly chilled and children, and adults who thought they were children, were brought onto the beach.  Bonfires were lit and the citizens of Storybrooke looked to the sky for fireworks.  They watched and waited and nothing happened.   It took a few minutes to work out what had happened-Leroy's boat, which should have been the ground-zero for fireworks, had sunk.  It had sunk and taken all of the fireworks with it.

"Oh no."

Henry sighed, "It was going to be so cool." He turned to his mother.  "Can't you guys, you know, do something?"  He almost whined but then remembered Violet was nearby.  "For the kids, I mean.  Roland's never seen fireworks."

Emma grinned, Zelena laughed and Regina and Maleficent rolled their eyes in tandem, but stood up none the less.  Lily grinned too, "Me too?"

So they all lined up and started to throw magic high into sky.  Purples, greens, blues and whites lit up the sky in wild patterns that put fireworks to shame.

They had, barefoot in the sand, unwittingly started a new Storybrooke tradition.

Lily grinned as she watched magic dance across the sky and in a split second turned to look at her mothers and saw that Maleficent was laughing and Regina was caught up in kiss with Emma Swan.  


	18. Dance Magic Dance

Dance Magic Dance

(18)

Emma shifted uncomfortably in her dress and once again questioned her mother's sanity.  Why, oh why, did they need a Ball in Storybrooke? Like a corsets and frills and dancing and bowing.  In the Enchanted Forest it had made sense.  In Storybooke it just seemed damn odd.

"This is weird."

Lily, dressed in a dress that rivaled Emma's for old-time fluffiness, huffed.  She pushed her tiara back up on head.  "I mean I avoided all the debutante crap my adopted parents tried to push on me."  She shifted, obviously uncomfortable in her dress and heels.  "And now someone just actually and also literally called me Princess."

Emma knew that feeling.  She'd been called Princess a lot and it was very and extremely weird.

"Same.  I think we should have bailed and hung out with the kids."  

The kids meaning Henry and Violet babysitting Roland, Neal and Robbie.

"What I don't get is how I'm a princess."  

Emma got it, sort of.  Regina was a queen and Lily was her daughter (that was still a very odd thought) so she was a princess.  Or something.  Who knew.

Speaking of Regina, she hadn't seemed all that thrilled about a ball, either.  Zelena, dressed in her signature green, seemed to be enjoying herself, but Regina was decidedly not.  Regina had, predictably, worn black accented with a very unpredictable color of shimmering bronze.  It caught the olive-tones in her skin.  She was glowing, like a goddess among peasants.  She put everyone else, even Snow White, to shame.  

Emma downed her punch, and wished that Ruby had followed up on her promises to spike it, and decided she was going to go ask the Queen for a dance.  

"Oh My God."  Lily grabbed her arm and tugged her attention around.  The band, or orchestra, or whatever, had paused and The Royals had taken over the dance floor to have some special fancy-shmancy dance.  David and Snow were leading it and the Kings, Queens and assorted Princes and Princesses were all pairing off.

Regina started to back away into the crowd, like she could disappear in a crowd, only to be stopped by Maleficent.  Emma couldn't hear them, but she saw Regina shake her head and the familiar phrase of "I can't dance" fell from her lips.

Maleficent, dressed to kill in a shining silver gown, took her onto the floor anyway.  They didn't dance like the others, though.  Emma and Lily watched, eyes wide as Maleficent lead Regina first around the floor and then up into the air.  They rose into the air, like they were dancing on an invisible floor.  They spun and twisted and Regina was clinging to Maleficent, who was performing the gravity defying magic.  They looked graceful and jaw-dropingly magnificent as they floated together, closer to the ceiling then the floor.  Maleficent's hands rested on Regina's trim waist.  

Emma had never seen Regina look so happy.

"You know, usually I can't see it."

Lily remarked in an almost whisper.

"See what?"  Emma tried to keep her tone neutral, but it was hard.

"My mothers together-together like that.  Like they're in that fairy-tale kind of love that must have made me."

The music had stopped but Regina and Maleficent were still floating together, gently swaying to some music that only they could hear.  Maleficent held Regina close as they floated gently to the ground after a moment of applause.

Emma excused herself as Lily went to get talk to her mothers.  She had to go talk to a werewolf about some alcohol.


	19. The D Word

 

The D Word

Maleficent Drake lived in a well-kept Victorian styled house off of Merchant Avenue.  She had found work with the city as an accountant and auditor and very much enjoyed it.  Lily often rolled her eyes at her occupation, but compared to evil sorceress, Mal had decided that her new profession was preferable.  It even came with Health Insurance, not that she needed it.  

Lily officially lived there, and filled the house with clutter and life.  Though Maleficent could do without the clutter, she did love her daughter.  It was a quiet Wednesday evening and Mal was enjoying a book by the fire.  This world’s literature was so broad and varied.  Compared to the Enchanted Forest, it was a wonderland of books.  Regina had started her off with suggestions, and Belle had added additional titles.  Emma Swan had even suggested reading on a small, flat computer screen.  She had disregarded that particular suggestion as she preferred having a book in her hands.  She may like modern conveniences, but a book was a book and she preferred to be able to see and smell it, thank you very much.

Lily called her old fashioned.  Perhaps she was.  Afterall, she was sitting by the fire with a book and a glass (or two…or more) or wine.  She had spent many evenings this way in the old world.  

“Hey Mom”

She looked up from the seemingly hopeless tale of  the Joad Family.  Lily was dressed for bed, long soft pants with  cartoon characters on them and a shirt with an odd man who apparently said “bazinga” on it.  

“Yes, My Darling?”

Lily sat in the chair adjacent to the couch she was resting on.  She looked pensieve.  They’d had quite a few fireside chats together over the past few months.  Maleficent liked to think that they had moved from strangers to family through these conversations.  

“Can I ask you some stuff?”

She placed her bookmark to mark her page and set the book aside.  "Of course, Lily.  What’s on your mind.“

She squirmed in her chair for a moment and played with her fingers.  She was such a figity little hatchling.

"You and Regina.”

Ah.

Well, she supposed that all children eventually wondered about their parents and how they were conceived.  Especially if said child was a magical child borne to an Evil Queen and a Dragon.  They hadn’t talked about it extensively, partly due to Regina’s penchant for fainting when it came up, so it was high time.

“Well, Darling, when two women have mag-”

“Oh God, No.  Nope.  That is not at all what I want to know.”

Lily’s face twisted in disgust and Maleficent couldn’t help but smile because in that moment she looked precisely like Regina.

“You can keep the kinky details to yourself.  I just want to know about, you know, that not sex stuff.  How did you meet, why didn’t you tell her about me-before the baby-napping I mean.  Why did you break it off?”

Those were all good and deep questions.  There wasn’t an easy or simple reply.

“Well, My Darling, I suppose it’s best to start from the beginning.”

So she did.  She told Lily of the brave and beautiful young queen who’d helped her regain her fire.  She told her of practicing magic and encouraging her darkness.

“At the time, I was so caught up in it all.  Revenge is a very sweet dish and dragons remember their grievances for a long long time.  We aren’t gentle-tempered creatures.”

Lily had scoffed at that, “Yeah, it sort of explains a lot about my teenage years.”

Oh how Mal wished she’d been around to see her girl grow up.  It hurt her.  It also hurt Regina.  They had cried together over the time they’d lost with Lily.

“As time went on, though, Regina became darker and more viscous, bloody thirsty.  Your other mother is a loving woman, kind and sweet…but she also has a dark side. A very dark side.  It was fueled by loss and bitterness.  She was abused and twisted by her mother, by her acursed husband, and by The Dark One.  I didn’t help either.  I encouraged her and gave her the tools and skills.  By the time I realized I was pregnant.”  Maleficent sighed and felt a little pain in her heart at the memory, “she was too far gone.”

She reached out and touched her daughter's face. She traced the line of her cheek.  It reminded her of Regina when she was younger.

“I would have never hidden you from her.  I had planned to present you to her once you were born.  I knew that if she held you, saw that she had helped conceive a little miracle like you, that she wouldn’t be able to help herself.  She would have abandoned her revenge, the same way I had mine.  I knew that she had to have you, and not the promise of you.”

Maleficent paused.  "Perhaps if I had gone to her sooner, we would have never lost you.  You would have grown up a princess in a castle with every luxury we had at our disposal.  We would have ripped our own hearts out if it would have made you happy.  I loved you from the moment you were conceived and I know that had she known, had I told her, Regina would have loved you too.  Just as she-as we love you now.“

Maleficent knew that Regina would agree, that Regina did agree.  Her Little Queen, Her Little Witch loved Lily with all of her heart.

"When the Charmings took you, when they stole you away.”  

Maleficent took several deep breaths because the pain was still fresh and stinging despite the years.  "Oh I  didn’t care to stop her after that. Your Mother’s revenge became my own.  My efforts to stop her became little more than token.  I wanted them to suffer and rot.  I wanted them to know loss and pain.  I revelled in it.  When I saw those magical clouds in the sky, I didn’t know my fate but I knew Regina had succeeded, that she’d gotten our revenge.“

Her grip tightened on her wine glass and it shattered in her hand.

"Jesus Mom!”

She magicked the glass and spill away with a careless twist of her wrist and counted to ten in her head.  The darkness, her own temper and rage, receded.  

“And then the curse kept me as a dragon, and I believe you know the rest, Sweetheart.”

Lily nodded, “Yeah, the past.  I know the present too.  You guys are the best divorced Mommies a girl could ask for.”

She smiled again, “But-”

But?  Maleficent wasn’t quite sure what her girl meant.

“What about the future?  I mean…”  She held out her hands.  "You and Momma-Daddy are really close.  I mean, sometimes the way she looks at you.  Mom, she looks at you like every romance movie all rolled into one.  You?  You look at her like she’s the answer to every question ever asked.  You guys have the sort of love that fairy tales are supposed to be about.  You guys loved eachother so much you broke the laws of biology and made a baby.  You can’t tell me you don’t love her.“

Maleficent couldn’t deny that. Of course she loved Regina.  She’d loved her for years, would always love her.

"So why don’t you go in there and sweep her off her Prada-wearing feet.   Robin-Who.  Mom, you’re supposed to be her soulmate.”

Once upon a time Lily would have been right.

“Lily.”  She sighed,  “I loved Regina very much.  I still do.  A dragon’s love is like it’s fire: ever burning.  Regina gave me you and I will always love her.  She will always have a piece of my heart.”  

 

This conversation was harder than she had thought it would be.  “But our time is over.  We are friends and we are mothers to you, and I will cherish and protect her always, but we won’t be together romantically ever again.”

 

It hurt.  It hurt because it was true.  It also hurt because the reason they would not be together again was because Regina had moved on.  Regina was, rather she admitted it or not, in love with Emma Swan.  Who was she to stand in the way of a fairy tale romance?

“Mom.”

Lily looked at her, “I love you too, you know.”

  
  



End file.
